How to Shop For Toys With Your Children to Fill in Their Wood Toy Boxes to Both Your Satisfaction

It is your toy store nightmare. Your child is throwing a tantrum on the store's floor, shrieking his head off, and obnoxiously demanding for that toy. You are helplessly looking on, while you are receiving judgmental glares and piteous looks from other shoppers, which make you want to curl up and hide in the wood toy boxes at home.

Then you start thinking about stuffing your child in his wood toy boxes! But you cannot, so you need to make plans to prevent another toy store nightmare.

Talk It Out

If possible, you can schedule a family conference regarding the planned shopping excursion. You can discuss which toy store to go to, what time you will be going there, what types of toys they are allowed, your budget, and the behavior you expect from them.

When you include your children in planning, you give them a sense of worth. After all, these will be their toys that will be added to their wood toy boxes, not yours.

Set Financial Limits

Before going into the toy store, you need to set monetary limits. First, tell your children how much you are willing to spend on how many toys. When you tell them your budget and why you need to stick to it, they will choose toys more wisely.

When you set limits, you teach your children the value of money and the value of their chosen toys. Hopefully, your children will take better care of their toys, and you can stop wondering where all the contents of their wood toy boxes have gone to.

Set Safety Limits

You need to tell your children safety requirements that you want followed on their toys. Tell them that only age-appropriate toys are allowed, which means that you will check labels for age requirements and care instructions. You also have to consider medical complications like asthma and allergies to certain toy components.

You will also need to check on sharp points and edges, small parts, loud noises, projectiles, cords and strings, and electrical hazards that might pose a risk to your child and to others. Indeed, you might also have to check if the toys can be stuffed inside their wood toy boxes, or should have containers of their own.

Set a Schedule

For many children, you will need to schedule who buys first. With small children, you have to accompany them, lest they break anything. For bigger children, you can let them explore on their own, but they should come back to a designated area once they have chosen their toy. This way, you can reduce the risk of anybody being lost in a shopping mall.

Set Behavioral Rules

Talk to your children about the behavior expected of them. For older children, you can ask them to behave appropriately, to call your attention properly when they see a toy they like, and to discuss its merits with you. For smaller children, you can direct their attention to the toys you want them to see. You can also ask your older children to help you explain things to their younger siblings. Often, kids have a language of their own!

When you have properly planned your toy outing, you are better prepared to deal with toy emergencies. Indeed, you will be filling in their wood toy boxes with toys - and not with your body or your children's!